Falange
The Falange is the second largest political party in Alduria. It is a member of the Christian League and the Right-Wing Party Association. It is the sucessor to the Democratic party. Ideology Following the refoundation of the Democratic Party (DP) in 2418, the Falange came into existence and shifted the party's ideology from a centre-right conservative one to a more authoritarian fascist one. The party supports increased state intervention in the economy through nationalisation of most major utilities and socially it promotes strict conservative values and a state based around the Catholic religion. Falange leader and founding father General François Michel. History Foundation and early years On 23 October 2363 the various right-wing and centrist factions' delegates met in a convention in Aldur city and agreed to form a new centre-right political party to provide a united challenge to the left-wing parties who were dominant in Alduria. Michael Collins an independent parliamentarian for over 30 years as well as a wealthy Bendiri landowner was elected the party's first leader, with young Harkonia lawyer Christian Branting as his deputy. The Democratic Party - effectively a coalition of all non left-wing movements in Alduria - was born. It comprised many members of the former Front Nationale and the New Aldurian Conervative party. In power at last Over the next 23 years the founding fathers steadily built up the coalition's infrastructure and support, which culminated in victory in the national elections of 2385. The Democratic party became Alduria's largest party, maintaining a majority in the Assemblée populaire from 2385 to 2391 and holding the presidency twice, firstly with Michael Collins from 2385 to 2388, then following his retirement, with Charles de Gaulle from 2388 to 2391. First Decline After 2390 however, the steady decline of the party began. The reason was due to the diverse coalition nature of the party - on the one hand there was the Moderates (comprising centrists, moderate christian democrats, moderate conservatives and liberals), whilst on the other hand there was the Traditionalists (comprising more conservative Catholics and nationalist fascists). Collins had been able to keep these wide variety of factions within the party united. Folowing Collins' retirement the moderate Nationalist Charles de Gaulle assumed the leadership of the party and in 2388, the presidency of Alduria. However he isolated the Moderates and a divided party was routed at the 2391 election, losing both the presidency and it's plurality in the Assemblée populaire. The party came close to going out of existenece with many members and voters moving to other parties (the Traditionalists to the New Aldurian Conservative party and the Moderates to Alduria's left-wing parties). Revival under Reagan Despite this the party's new leader, the little known Bendiri farmer Ronald Reagan, restored some degree of unity by satisfying the demands of the Traditionalists and the Moderates. The party's support recovered to over 20% in the 2394 elections and hovered around this figure for the next three elections. However, the party would soon run into trouble again after Reagan's death in 2404. Second decline and disintegration The christian democrat Jacques Chirac suceeded Reagan as party leader. The Traditionalists were unhappy that a Moderate had taken over and many of them defected to the new far-right Pàrtaidh Nàiseanta na h-Alda (Aldurian National Party, le Parti National d’Alduria). In an attempt to appese them, Chirac renamed the party Rassemblement pour la République (RPR) and shifted party policy sharply to the right. Despite the party's obvious disunity, Chirac was hugely polular personally and won the 2406 Presidential election with the RPR increasing it's parliamentary representation. After this however the party began to crumble. The leadership's rightward shift isolated the Moderates (causing many of them to move to the left-wing parties) but it was not a big enough shift to satisfy the Traditionalists (who began to seep away to Pàrtaidh Nàiseanta na h-Alda). Disjointed and damaged by internal squabbles the party's support dropped dramatically in the 2409 parliamentary elections. Chirac, discredited by his failure to hold the party together and by a seris of financial scandals whilst in office, lost the presidency. He resigned immediately as leader, and the party disintegrated over the next few months, repaced as Alduria's main right-wing force by the Pàrtaidh Nàiseanta na h-Alda. Rebirth and electoral triumph The collapse of the Pàrtaidh Nàiseanta na h-Alda in 2415 left a power vacuum in the Aldurian right. Various right-wing factions scrambled together to form a new party to run in the 2418 elections. Thanks mainly to the efforts of the late Michael Collins' son, Michael Collins Jr. the Democratic party was reformed. It was more or less identical to the old Democratic party - a coalition of non left-wing groups - but with the notable difference that the Traditionslists were now the dominant faction. For the 2418 presidential elections the Traditionalists and the Moderates agreed to nominate a sort of compomise candidate, the former Attorney General Phillippe Bourdin (the Traditionalists seeing Michael Collins Jr. as being unacceptably linked with the moderates). Going into the elections the party was hampered by it's old problem of division between the rival factions. Indeed in the vast majority of constituencies the party effectively had Traditionalists and Moderates running against eachother. With such deep divisions it came as surprise when it won a plurality in the Assemblée populaire. Bourdin also performed much better than expected coming second in the presidential election and actually topping the poll in the first round. Falange is founded Equally as significant however was the collapse of the Moderates and the dramatic ascension of the Traditionalists who gained 110 out of 114 of the party's seats. Virtually in control of the party, the Traditionalists elected the ultra-conservative military leader General François Michel as leader. He renamed the Democratic Party, the Falange and redefined it as Fascist, shifting away from the moderate conservatism of old. With the Moderates now effectively eliminated as a faction within the party, Collins Jr. (one of the Moderates' 4 deputies) along with Bourdin sought to move himself closer to the fascists who now represented the mainstream of the party. Organisation Party policy is the responsibility of the leader and he is elected by an electoral college of Parliamentary party members and non-parliamentary members. He is not automatically the party's candidate for the presidential election. Instead this is decided by a primary 6 months prior to the election. The leader may be diposed through a vote of no confidence among parliamentary members. Falange Headquarters, Aldur City Falange leaders (including Demoratic and Rassemblement pour la République leaders) Michael Collins Ronald Reagan Jacques Chirac General François Michel Falange Aldurian Presidents Michael Collins Jacques Chirac Philippe Bourdin General François Michel Composition The party can be considered a catch-all party drawing support from all classes from upper-class to middle class to working class. The largest group of supporters comes from the middle-classes (49%) Service de protection Service de protection (Protection Service) is the paramilitary wing of the Falange. Le Jeune Falange Le Jeune Falange (The Young Falange) is the youth wing of the Falange. Category:Political parties in Alduria